MediaZone4K

Fox News  as well as CNN & MSNBC are bad for the American public. They provide a hyperbolic sense of urgency to many continually unfolding matters and instill a fear in their viewers of the opposing political side. It's unfortunate that a lot of the less media literate will eat up whatever CNN, MSNBC, and Fox spews. 

What I've also noticed is that many average viewers don't make a distinction between The Fox News Channel, the Fox broadcast network and their local Fox affiliates. Case and point, someone I know questioned why I would watch "Fox News", after I had shared a screenshot of a weather forecast from a local Fox affiliate. 

Similarly, a friend of mine expressed skepticism that a network like Fox (associating it with the Fox News Channel) would air something like "Empire" , unaware that  broadcast Fox had a history of airing urban and (and less conservative oriented) shows like In Living Color, Martin, Living Single and Married With Children.

Interestingly enough big Fox airs shows like Family Guy and The Simpsons which have openly lampooned Fox & Fox News. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other major media entity that lets such sharp in house criticism of its parent corporation go uncensored. 

As I've expressed before CBS News doesn't really have in house talent that could sustain the Evening News. The few exceptions would be perhaps Ted Koppel, and maybe Leslie Stahl. They need someone that posses a "super anchor" like presence, commanding of audience attention.

Gayle, Norah, and Jane Pauley have the right personality for mornings. Oprah & Gayle function very well as the "big prime time special interview" getter that ABC had in Diane Sawyer and Barbra Walters. I like Margate Brenan (she does well occasionally subbing for Norah on CBSEN) and John Dickerson on politics.

IF for speculation sake they were planning on replacing the Evening News anchor, I think they would need to snatch a big name from an outside network. Someone like Shepard Smith, Wolf Blitzer, or George Stephanopoulos among others. 

I don't mind all the shows being under a single brand but MSNBC should have stuck with the 'MSNBC Live' brand IMO. It gives a continuous coverage feel, and average viewers probably just say their watching MSNBC rather than the program name unless it's Rachel Maddow or Joy Reid etc....

The new L3's  are more of the same but I prefer them over the previous package. Regardless cable news could stand to diversify itself from this heavy white box look. No gloss, no shine no transparency, just flat and white. From what I've seen sports channels like ESPN have completely outdone cable news where graphics and set design are concerned.

Their early 2000s look was strong and more creative. Followed by their mid 00s and early 2010s looks. 

What is the alternation pattern for WCBS between the main set and the CBSN set? So far it seems they use the CBSN studio for noon, 6 p.m., and weekend evenings and nights, and the main set for all of the times. In other words, anytime there's a solo anchor broadcast?

4 hours ago, MetroCity said:

New York is too different from region to region for one statewide newscast to find traction. Upstate people hate downstate people; the (NYC) northern suburbs don’t care about anything or anyone other than Metro North; Long Islanders are too busy being stuck in traffic; and everyone hates Staten Island.

 

I think the solution for WPIX is to move out of Midtown East, and move to Queens. Then, build a newscast and image that is New York City, other than Manhattan. Forget Manhattan news. Concentrate on the other four boroughs and their 7,000,000 residents. 
 

It’s harder to do, and requires some real outside the box work. But it would give New York something it doesn’t have: a newscast that resembles and reflects New York.

I like that outer borough centric approach. But instead of Queens, I'd say move to Brooklyn which seems to be the second epicenter of the city now.

The older WPIX had a more urban appeal maybe they can bring that vibe back. ( Fox 5 sort of has that going for them with Lisa Evers and Street soldiers). Perhaps they could attempt a WSVN tabloid hard-boiled type newscast to set themselves apart from the other stations. Was always curious how that approach might work in New York.

16 hours ago, MorningNews said:

Wonder Fox is studying a new format. GDLA has become heavily focused around Michaela P as well.

Hopefully not. Neither she nor Lori can carry that 3 hour broadcast solo. Can't belive it but the PIX 11 Morning News is beginning to grow on me with that team vibe they have now.

I've been noticing Rosanna anchoring GDNY solo. I'm surprised they wouldn't give her a fill in host for that 3 hour slot.

13 hours ago, Camera1 said:

This new desk is starting to look familiar.  Just needs some flowers in front.

if only morning news sets could look that great again.

The new Fox o&o logos are too plain. The blue/red rectangle logos and WNYW's 90s logos were more creative. 

15 hours ago, Liugrad2020 said:

 

 I thought she was good was mornings and Ann was better for evenings.

Last off topic thing to add, agreed about Elizabeth vs Ann.

21 minutes ago, TVNewsLover said:

Honestly, the breaking news should be handled by whoever is in studio at that moment. Anything up until 1:30ish should be George and everything after should be David. I also feel that they should be each other’s primary backups on their respective programs.

Agreed! Plus, special events like the Inauguration or the Election, they can co-anchor. 

1 hour ago, Liugrad2020 said:

I don’t think this would happen but it would be something if TL was headed to CBS and not NBC and he ends up anchoring the CBS Evening News.

Tom is okay but I doubt he'll give CBS the rise it needs. Heck the only person I see at CBS with has the "presence" to be lead anchor is Ted Koppel, lol. If only he were younger and up to it! If he didn't retire in '05 he would have been a solid replacement on WNT instead of Vargas and Woodruff. 

On 1/25/2021 at 7:48 PM, Gavin said:

When she was unfairly latinolized by the terrible Elizabeth Vargas. 

Speaking of Elizabeth Vargas, I always thought she had a good personality for mornings. I saw her co-anchor on a 90s Thanksgiving Edition of "Today' and she was pretty solid. 

6 hours ago, MorningNews said:

I’ve grown to really admire George on GMA but honestly he and David Muir are better suited for each other’s programs than their own.

 

Besides that point, George is just a better breaking news anchor than David seems to be. I don’t like this development but David is pulling 10M viewers a night, he can ask for whatever he wants.

I'm inclined to agree! David Muir has a personality that can shift from the "seriousness" and breaking news to the fluffy crap of GMA. George is more stiff. He's good at hard news, breaking coverage and politics. But yes, it does seem odd to have George come in to anchor coverage in the afternoon when David is there, then alternate weekends on This Week. I'm surprised they don't co-anchor coverage of events like Lester and Savannah do on NBC. 

Hypothetically, if they wanted to compromise George and David could do a dual head anchorship like Huntley/Brinkley. They could split duties like the early days of WNT where George would cover politics and international news and David covers the U.S. and the fluff. As you pointed out David brings in the numbers so I wouldn't mess with that. 

Crazy! I was just tinking about Matt Gutman's previous suspension when I saw him reporting on the Tiger Woods crash.

Lester is pretty solid as anchor of Nightly News, David Muir is pretty good too (ABC News however....). The only Evening News anchor I see could being unseated in the near future is Nora O'Donnell, not that CBS has anyone better at the moment.

If Lori were to move to evenings, they should get a solid male co-anchor for her at 6 and 10. A separate anchor duo could take over noon and 5.

As for Good Day New York, Rosanna Scotto needs a Greg Kelly/ Mike Jerrik/Karl Stefanovic type personality to balance her out and really make the show lively again.

Bryant and Deborah as a team was so so compared to his to his two pairings. Jane definitely should not have been pushed out. Speaking on Deborah herself as anchor, I liked her.

Bryant and Katie was a better pairing as she was a strong female co-host, but I preferred Katie with Matt and Bryant with Jane. Gumbell and Couric felt a little tense. I found Katie and Matt however to be more laid back and relaxed together. The Bryant/Jane years on the other hand were really strong because of it's sophisticated and intellectual tone. The prime era of Today to me was either the Bryant/Jane or the Matt/Katie years. 

All CBS needs to do now is get Face the Nation, The Evening News, and their o&o stations in order. In addition to improving their on-air look, and either poaching big talent from other networks or developing strong in house talent.

4 hours ago, Daybreak said:

Just a little fun fact via Twitter @RetroNewsNow 

Deborah wasn't bad at all! Granted, Katie and Jane were more 'star forces' on the program but Deborah was pleasant, capable and decent from what I've seen of her tenure online. 

2002 newscast from KCOP Los Angeles. Very tabloid, even for UPN. It's not even WSVN where you get hard news in a flashy format, this is beyond Inside edition!

The co-anchor is Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos' gf.

KCOP's highly sensationalized style as exemplified by their promos from that era:

Well deserved! CTM is the the best of the bunch currently. I like the mature sophisticated vibe of their round table conversations with guests. The moderate pacing is great, unlike the rushed feel of Today and GMA.

All the program needs is better graphics, and added elements to Studio 57 (instead of just sitting at the desk the whole broadcast, or occasionally standing by that giant screen) and they'll be solid. 

They should just give him a co-anchor for 11&5, have that be the solid team for both slots. Utilize another solid co anchor for Gilma on the weekends.

Things have become very mix and match recently. I recall in the past a common trend among stations was an anchor duo that did both morning and noon, a different duo that only did 5:00, then a another duo that covered both 6 & 11. 

Out of curiosity, I've seen it happen several times where Maurice and Christine anchor on a Sunday night. How come?

Tonight I presume it's to promote their 11:00 team since it's after the super bowl?

13 hours ago, RCA TK47 said:

 

I started taking a look at GMA again recently after not watching it for decades.  I kid you not... let's just say the last time I really watched was the Hartman/Gibson/Lunden eras.  Yup, call me Rip Van Winkle; I'm that old.  Hey, I was busy at work putting food on the table and a roof over my head.  I've recently had some time away from work and decided to take a peek.  The program nowadays is an unwatchable trainwreck of show stacking,  plus a 2 hour Disney Corporation infomercial.  

Agreed. GMA is just over the top tabloid, with frequent usage of "breaking overnight", "shocking" and "dramatic video". (Today is following suit). There's some good bits you can get out of the first 30-45 minutes, but that's about it. I find myself tolerating Weekend GMA better.

I don't' mind a distinction in the morning shows. One being the high energy show like current GMA or the Today Show in Australia, one being the slower paced more intellectual program like CBS This Morning or the old U.S. Today show, etc.. . But GMA can be unwatchable at times especially with the silly Disney promotion and celebrity fluff.

The current Today Show is a bit less extreme but still flawed. Today seems to be going the more human interest, "authentic moments", emotional, laugh, cry, lifestyle" route. But GMA is still number one, either because audiences haven't seen older GMA and Today to make a comparison, or TV viewers are just making the best out of the current crop of morning shows. Overall, CBS This Morning IMO is the best out of the bunch, news and lifestyle discussion wise. 

The new Weekend Today set in Washington DC looks pretty good. Dare I say better than studio 1A!  

As said many times before it's too local news. The graphics are okay but could stand to be less flat with a lot more shine and gloss. As for the evening news theme I wish they'd bring back either the Dan Rather theme or the James Horner theme from 2006.

The new intro is okay and the graphics are decent. Wish it were longer though.